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Reaching Her Goals: Antonelli Nicole

"I am a very competitive person and I like to reach my limit. I train CrossFit not due to aesthetics, but because I have a goal, and I know that I have to do my best in order to achieve this goal."

Photos courtesy of Equipe Foto Esporte Brasil

Antonelli Nicole has only been doing CrossFit for 10 months and is ranked in the top 15 in Latin America after four weeks in the Open

Nicole, 27, contributes much of her success as a CrossFit athlete to her background in Capoeira: a Brazilian mix of martial arts, dance, rhythm and movement, which promises great body awareness when practiced frequently.

She first learned about CrossFit through Internet research and online videos. Although she felt immediately drawn to the training method, it was one year later that she started training at an affiliate, CrossFit Brasil, in São Paulo.

Despite being a very dedicated athlete, Nicole says without a great coach, she would have never become a great athlete.

“I feel that most of my fast evolution in CrossFit is thanks to my coach, Joel Friedman,” she says. “He is a great leader who motivates me into achieving my goals. A lot of athletes take their coaches for granted, but I am aware that he taught me most of what I know today and helped me grow not only as an athlete, but also as a person. If I am where I am today, after only a short 10 months, it is not only due to my skills, but also due to the support system that I have in the box that I train, and in my coach and fellow CrossFitters.”

Nicole trains six days a week and says CrossFit has helped her increase her strength and cardio respiratory endurance. The sport also changed her life in several ways.

“I am a very competitive person and I like to reach my limit. I train CrossFit not due to aesthetics, but because I have a goal, and I know that I have to do my best in order to achieve this goal,” she explains. “In this sport, we compete against ourselves. You don’t win or lose against anyone else; you win for yourself, not for others. I believe that if you can reach this line of thought, you can evolve a lot.”

So far, Nicole says she is happy with her results in the Open and hopes to make it to the Latin America Regional in June. She has been able to consistently maintain a good ranking after four weeks of Open workouts.

She scored 171 reps on 13.1, showing she has strength; 295 reps on 13.2 showing she has endurance; and 241 reps on 13.3. Although she was disappointed for not having a chance to try the 13.4 twice, her score of 79 reps placed her 14th on the Women’s Latin America Leaderboard.

“I think that the (workouts) from the Open are very well planned, in a way that they are not prioritizing athletes with more strength or more cardio endurance, but are balanced enough so to give every athlete a chance to excel.”

Nicole has a message to her fellow CrossFitters: “Free your mind of negative thoughts. You need a goal and you need to follow through in order to reach this goal, despite of what others say. Finish what you started, no matter how difficult it is.”